Extraction director Sam Hargrave is developing an adaptation of Sega’s Shinobi video game franchise. First released as an arcade game in 1987, Shinobi sits in the hack-and-slash genre, with Joe Musashi serving as the franchise’s main character in numerous installments. The overarching storyline of many of the games sees Joe facing off against Zeed, an evil ninja crime syndicate. There are now 12 Shinobi games in total, with a thirteenth on the way.
Now, Universal Pictures reveals that they’re partnering with Sega to bring a Shinobi movie to life. Hargrave, who directed both Extraction (2020) and Extraction 2 (2023), is attached to direct the project, with Ken Kobayashi (Sunny) set to write the screenplay.
Marc Platt and Adam Siegel will produce the film through Marc Platt Productions, while Dmitri M. Johnson will produce for Story Kitchen. For Sega, Toru Nakahara will produce. Mike Goldberg will executive produce the Shinobi film, with Timothy I. Stevenson co-producing. For Universal, Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Production Development Christine Sun will oversee the project. There’s no release date for the title just yet, but it’s clearly early days, meaning it likely won’t arrive for several years.
What The New Shinobi Movie Means For Sega
The Video Game Company’s Reach Has Been Expanding
With a Shinobi movie now in development, the video game company has the potential to become an even bigger figure in the world of Hollywood entertainment. The company has already partnered with Paramount Pictures for the Sonic the Hedgehog films, which have both been massively successful. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 releases later this year, and a Knuckles spinoff show is now streaming on Paramount+.
Related
Knuckles Ending Explained: Knuckles’ Journey & Sonic 3 Set-Up
The six episodes of the Knuckles spin-off show are now streaming on Paramount+, complete with an action-packed ending setting up Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
In addition to Sonic the Hedgehog, another Sega adaptation is on the way in the form of Like A Dragon: Yakuza, which is in development at Prime Video. This upcoming series is, of course, based on the Sega Yakuza games, which stretch back to 2005. If both the Yakuza and Shinobi projects are hits, these could become major franchises just like Sonic the Hedgehog, meaning there could potentially be plenty of Sega movies and TV shows coming over the next few years.
The Like A Dragon: Yakuza TV show is set to release on Prime Video on October 24.
Our Take On The Shinobi Adaptation
With the Extraction movies, Hargrave has proven himself one of the most exciting directors working in action today, making him a great fit for a Shinobi film. Since Hargrave is a former stunt performer, just like John Wick director Chad Stahelski, he evidently knows how to make action look great on screen, and hack-and-slash action is basically the entire draw of the Shinobi video games.
With Hargrave’s next project seemingly an action movie called Kill Them All, the Shinobi movie might not be arriving anytime soon. Even though there may be a bit a wait for this Sega adaptation, it certainly looks to be in good hands.
Source: Universal Pictures
